Our specialist advice helps you achieve the best possible outcome in your case.
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For further advice please contact us for a consultation.
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Let us also help you build a strong Health & Safety culture to prevent incidents in the future.
Summary
Our specialist health and safety lawyers have a wealth of experience in providing advice and defence services in a range of health and safety cases. They support both organisations and individuals accused of failing to comply with health and safety legislation, and product safety/ food safety laws.
There are two principal areas where we provide support:
Investigations by the Regulator
A serious health & safety incident can be devastating. Aside from the emotional impact of knowing that someone has been seriously injured or has died, a very intense investigation will follow, led by the Police, HSE, Local Authority, CQC or Fire Authority. You will also need to ensure business continuity and manage communications with your workforce, suppliers and customers, in addition to the press. Care is needed, given that a hard-earned reputation can be destroyed in moments.
By engaging our specialist advisors early, the pressure on you will reduce as we will guide you through the many decisions that need to be made in the weeks and months that follow the incident. The way you deal with this stage of the investigation can have significant legal implications for the organisation, directors and senior managers. Therefore, why not use the benefit of our experience to help you navigate through this challenging time?
For organisations that like to be prepared, we can help you put processes in place so that, if an incident happens, you know what steps to implement given you have already identified the actions critical to your business.
Improving your health & safety performance
We are passionate about helping you prevent incidents. Every day we are working with clients where health & safety practices have broken down. We therefore have exceptional knowledge of what tends to go wrong, and we can help you avoid those situations.
Our training sessions are renowned for helping delegates understand why those at every level of the organisation play an important part in keeping people safe. We are also able to provide countless examples of what happens when processes are not followed. As a result, delegates develop the lasting motivation needed to ensure the organisation achieves compliance.
In addition to our training events, our mock trials are a powerful reminder of the impact that serious incidents can have on those involved, including the injured person and their family, those in the dock, and the witnesses required to give evidence. You get to see the real implications of an incident and the legal process that can follow. Delegates have told us that, some years later, our training still comes to mind when making decisions around health and safety at work.
The services we provide to our clients
- A crisis response service following a serious incident
- Strategic advice and support during Health & Safety investigations
- Representation at interviews under caution
- Defending prosecutions
- Appeals of Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices
- Coroner’s Inquests
- Reputation risk management and communication strategies
- Advice to help you achieve compliance including policy reviews
- Keeping you up to date and horizon scanning
Notable matters our lawyers have worked on
- The investigation, inquest and prosecution following the death of a worker during HGV unloading operations
- An investigation in relation to asbestos removal works
- A prosecution following multiple enforcement notices served on a housebuilder at a construction site
- The investigation, inquest and prosecution following a fatal accident due to an overloaded forklift truck
- The amputation of fingers resulting from unguarded machinery in the manufacturing process
- An investigation concerning the death of a worker following exposure to chemicals in the workplace
- The police investigation and inquest concerning a service user who choked on food
- A food safety investigation following an allergic reaction to a meal
- Product safety allegations following the death of a member of the public whilst using the company’s product
- Advising on occupational health standards, risk controls and health surveillance
- Training to over 1000 people in one organisation. The client believes the training is a substantial reason for the company’s success in reducing RIDDOR reports by 85% over 5 years. They have also gone on to win awards for their achievements in Health & Safety
Client testimonials
Chambers and Partners Guide 2024 – Emma Bowens
“She is enormously hard-working, she has a really good approach, and clients love her because she is very much a people person.”
“Emma is a real subject matter expert and she’s also very attuned to our needs. Her availability is fantastic.”
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